Gent/Gand
My Belgian client ended up canceling on me at the last minute today, so I found myself with an entire day free and a rental car that didn't need to be back until 8pm. I didn't want to get too far off track since I still had the drive back to Paris to "look forward" to, so I ended up going to Gent. It was one of those towns that I had no expectations for or of - and it turned out to be fabulous. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky - it was the perfect day for exploring a new city.
The architecture there was so different from anything I'd ever seen before, and I was kicking myself for not charging my camera the night before (thank God for the blackberry). Every corner I turned brought a new and wonderful view:
Has anyone else ever been? I don't know anything about the city and I didn't have a map, so I just spent the day wandering around and shopping, stopping every once in a while to sit in the sun. I had a drink at a bar across the street from this castle. I just kept blinking and looking at it, it was like something straight out of Disneyland. Or maybe a giant Lego castle.
But it was a great day, which mostly made up for the hell that was driving back through Paris this evening!Labels: Travel
posted by Ksam @ 11:07 PM
8 Comments:
Oh how cool! I will need to go there and check it out.
The architecture and the canals remind me of Bruges.
Looks pretty!!
i was there around christmas 2007, and it's really a lovely city. the main things to see are this amazing painting in the cathedral (the adoration of the mystic lamb) that you can look at for like an hour, listening to the audioguide that explains every detail, the castle, and i found this cute little museum that was called "museum of things past" or something like that, and basically documented all of the 20th century. oh, and there's this really famous mustard place, that's been around for like 300 years. they have the best mustard.
Jonnifer - I was actually debating between Gent & Bruges, since my client is almost in between them.
And la fille - thanks for the suggestions, I will definitely check them out next time I go back there!
I've been to nearby Bruges, but not Gent. Bruges looks like it was very similar. Not only is the scenery great, but the food is excellent too.
I've been to Ghent. It's not as nice as Bruges, but it's also significantly less touristy and has a youthful population, due to the large student body. The painting La Fille En Rose speaks of is the Ghent Alterpiece (or Adoration of the Mystic Lamb) by the Van Eyck brothers. It's considered one of the most important paintings of the early Renaissance.
Glad you had a good time. I've been to Bruges but not Ghent. Bruges was extremely interesting, as I remember.
Holland is fun in general. I can see why you fell in love with it. Did you get to Amsterdam?
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home